Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Since the outset of the terrible war in Ukraine and the brutal invasion by Russia nearly a year ago, we in Labour, alongside groups like the Ukraine Civil Society Forum, have been calling consistently for a more co-ordinated approach by Government to the housing of refugees and people seeking international protection here. We have called especially for a single and clear co-ordinated point of contact and centralised systems for managing the State response to this crisis. Back in December, it appeared as though our calls had been heard and we anticipated real change would come, but not so, it seems. Despite the appointment of the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O’Brien, who is doing his best alongside the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and his Department, we are still seeing the locating of housing and provision of resources for those fleeing war and hardship being done ad hocby the Government. Despite that change in December there is still this ad hocapproach with insufficient communication with Opposition parties, local public representatives or communities offering solidarity.

I agree with the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, when he says "no level of consultation" would change the views of some on housing refugees in their areas. What is needed is a centralised approach from Government to getting information out to local communities in a timely way when new accommodation is being opened to enable the provision of support to new residents in their area. Such a system would facilitate and support the amazing welcome shown across so many communities across the country, in both rural and urban areas, for those who seek refuge here.

It is undeniable there are sinister actors who are trying to further a far-right agenda in all this. A small number of people are seeking to exploit the information vacuum to sow fear and distrust in local communities. We have seen some awful reports of intimidation of families and children by protesters. This week we saw disruption of a Labour public meeting and our public representatives threatened for expressing solidarity with refugees, so this is a very scary time.

Those who engage in racist attacks must be condemned outright by all of us, but the Government has a responsibility here too. So far, we are not seeing sufficient cross-departmental support for the efforts of the Department of the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman. We especially need to see more from the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government and more from the Tánaiste's Department of Defence in the form of the repurposing of barracks across the country. We are not even seeing sufficient resourcing for the international protection accommodation services, IPAS, to ensure it has capacity to provide accommodation. What will change? At the very least, will we see the allocation of additional resources to IPAS, perhaps the appointment a special Minister in the Department of Housing and a coherent, NPHET-style cross-departmental response co-ordinated by the Taoiseach with a CMO figure to take responsibility and act as a point person on this? Will we see a public information campaign and allocation of resources to communities to ensure supports can be rolled out for those who come here seeking refuge and supports to the local communities who wish to offer the céad míle fáilte to them?

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